Hi new here and frustrated (VERY LONG)

Hi everyone! I am a newbie to this board and I came here because I am really struggling with Phase 1. I am in the middle of week 2 and am having a hard time keeping motivated. I canít believe that Iím the only out there that is having so much trouble on the SBD. I chose this plan because Iíve heard itís not TOO restrictive, you lose weight quickly and really learn how to eat healthy.

First off, I have a good 17lbs to lose. I lost 3.5lbs the first week. I weighed this morning and have lost another 1.5 lbs bringing my total up to 5lbs lost. I usually only weigh myself once a week but I cheated yesterday and just needed to see where I am for motivation. I cheated badlyÖÖ.terrible. I had m&ms!!!! I feel sooo guilty. It wasnít that I was craving something sweet itís that Iím SOOO hungry. And Iím sooooo sick of celery sticks with LLC, cucumbers, cheese sticks, etc. I think Iím going to start clucking if I eat any more eggs. I am not a big fan of eggs to begin with (no matter how they are cooked or what I try to disguise them with) I AM SICK OF EGGS! I have eaten more eggs in the past week and a half than I have all year. That said, I still feel guilty about those m&ms so I dutifully got up this morning and made myself eggs and turkey bacon. Since I cheated do I have to start the whole Phase 1 over or can I just keep moving forward?

About the hunger thing, I know Iím eating reasonable portions. Not too small but normal. Is it just that my appetite is maybe Ďgetting used toí the smaller more normal sized portions? I go to bed hungry almost every night and usually feel hungry about an hour after I eat. I feel like Iím eating plenty and that I shouldnít want more. Yes, I eat salad and vegetables. Plenty of them. I drink plenty of water, that (thankfully) is not a problem for me. I have been putting some Caffeine Free, Calorie Free artificially flavored sparkling water in my regular water. (Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate and Potassium Benzoate, malic acid, natural and artifical flavor, sucralose (splenda), acesulfame, potassium, neotame). Iím assuming this is ok as it canít be any worse than a diet soda. I just use a splash to give my water some flavor when I get sick of drinking Ďjust water.í I do eat snacks but I am totally sick of my choices. I like cheese but am really starting to get burnt out on it, same with celery and cucumbers. I eat nuts but have a hard time sticking to the allowed amount. In fact, last week I didnít even realize there was any kind of restriction so I ate WAY more than was allowed. When I realized this I backed off. I did go out and by some sugar free Jell-O. I really donít like Jell-O. Itís not the taste, but the feeling of it. Itís just soÖÖweird. But I am going to give it a shot. I was surprised that Sugar Free Cool Whip is so yummy. I had a hard time finding SF fudgsicles. I havenít even had one yet. I bought some over the weekend (Carb something) but then yesterday looked at the ingredients and it has Cocoa in it (plus a zillion other unpronounceable things) so thatís a no-no, right? They also have 100 calories each and weíre supposed to only eat 75 calories of that stuff a day. It was the only brand my local store had. I stopped at another store (slightly out of the way going to work) and they had the Popsicle brand SF Fudgicles so I got those. I hope those are ok because otherwise Iím at a loss.

I have the SBD book with all the recipes. I really have never cooked; I hate it and am not good at it. I also work 2 jobs and have a 2yo so donít have a lot of time to cook. The weekends are just as busy as the weekdays so itís not like I can spend all day Sunday cooking. I would rather stick a red-hot poker in my eye. Iíve been trying to find diet friendly FAST meals. Does anyone really have time to cook all those (seemingly Ė to me anyway) complicated meals that include so many things that I donít have on hand? I have had to resort to a few frozen SBD meals due to lack of time but they are expensive and not very tasty anyway. I just bought them so I wouldnít run to fast food.

Other inadvertent mistakes Iíve made: the ĎLiteí salad dressing that Iíve been using has sugar in it (didnít realize it until yesterday), I was eating Virginia Baked ham and not boiled ham (ummm, I didnít see anything called Ďboiledí ham at the deli), Iíve been eating turkey breast from the deli (shaved) but it doesnít say Ďlow fatí (is it naturally low fat or does it have to SAY low fat to be allowed?). So now I have a bunch of lunch meat in my refrigerator that I donít think I can eat. Oh and I canít find turkey sausage either. I can find the kind that is like turkey Italian sausage but not the ground breakfast kind. I made the egg cups with sausage (Jimmy Dean 50% less fat) and reduced fat cheese but now realize that I canít have it b/c of the sausage. I will try to make them with turkey bacon. It still has eggs though.

Is anyone else finding that they spend a fortune on food? Or at least way more than you used to? I am on a tight budget and am pretty frugal. I could eat very inexpensively (and poorly I guess) by matching coupons and sales. I could get things pretty cheaply and would stock up on things. Now I have a pantry full of soup, instant potatoes, rice dishes, pasta, etc. that I canít eat. I will donate some of it to a local food bank but still, itís a lot of food! I have probably spent more on food in the past week and a half than I did all last month! Yikes!!

I would like to try to stick to this because it obviously works but between the cost, the time it takes to prepare all these complicated foods and the restrictiveness I am really struggling. I am not a big Ďcarbí eater, I really donít miss the bread or pasta or potatoes at all. The only thing I miss is microwave popcorn. I donít really care about anything else. I just feel like Iím eating the same things over and over and over.

I am going to try those ricotta pancake things though since I canít bear the thought of another egg. Of course I have to go buy some ricotta cheese and hope that my grocery store has ďLiteĒ or part-skim (Iíve never seen that particular phrase before). Iím not sure if I like ricotta cheese. Is that the stuff that some people put in lasagna? If so I might have a problem with it. Hopefully it takes on a different consistency in the pancakes. I did find some SF syrup, itís not Davinci brand (couldnít find it) but Roddenberryís Northwoods. I didnít see anything bad in the ingredients list but Iím new to this so I hope itís ok.

I swear, Iím almost done but I have a couple more questions. On P49 of the book, he says that mayonnaise is ok, as long as you donít overdo it. ĎRemember to use the regular kind, not the low fat.í Is that just for Phase 2 and beyond or is it ok for Phase 1? The recipe for Cilantro Mayonnaise (P179) uses reduced-fat mayonnaise. Is mayonnaise ok or not? Real or low fat? Iíve been eating my lunch meat plain because I donít know if I can have mayonnaise.

Iím sorry for the novel and thank you if you made it this far. I guess Iím just looking for some support/advice/motivation to keep going. I was SOOO frustrated last night after realizing that my salad dressing was a no-no and then when I went to go heat my Bumble Bee tuna steak (vacuum packed) I realized there was some sugar in the marinade it was in. I think it was Lemon cracked pepper tuna or something like that. The ingredients listed 0 sugars but the ingredients showed some sugar in the sauce. That sent me over the edge. I had to eat it (with a salad of course) because itís all I had in the house to eat and I was not dragging my 2yo out to the store. I only ate half though because it was pretty nasty anyway. But I was just feeling like I couldnít eat ANYTHING. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!!!

1) You don't have much to lose so it may take you longer to get to your goal. The purpose of Phase 1 is to reduce your cravings for processed foods and carbs... I say move on from your one M/M attack.

2) Sounds like you've gotten into a food rut.. Take a look at the Emergency Handbook for Phase 1. There are more than celery,eggs, and lettuce on there that you can snack on. Nuts are a problem for me too, so I just roast up some chickpeas... just as good and no limit.

3) Ricotta is what is used in lasagna, some folks replace it with cottage cheese.. I don't really care for ricotta, and eat more cottage cheese . I like it with chopped tomatos as a breakfast or a snack.

4) I dont care for eggs much either, so I make muffins, and the pancakes.. It's something I could do for the Phase 1 part.. and now enjoy ww muffins, and smoothies...

5) Are you eating the 3 main meals and 2 snacks and dessert? Perhaps your portions are smaller than you think or you are not eating frequently enough.

6) The popsicle brand fudgcicles should be fine

7) Natural sugars do occur in foods..Like tomato sauces--- and if sugar is listed wayyyyyy down on the list of ingredients, it's pretty good guess that the amount you are going to ingest per serving is insignificant.

8) No foods don't have to say "low cal" ..in fact you need to be doubly careful as sometimes low cal is filled with fillers that are frankenfoods.. So Turkey is fine, I usually ask for "low salt ham" not boiled.

9) Mayonaise, look for brands with low or no sugar. If you are only having a teaspoon of mayo - I personally can't see that as a problem. --- Salad dressings.. CarbOption makes some tasty ones, or just plain Vinegar, Water and Splenda is great in a bean salad..

10)If you are sick of plain water, what you're adding looks okay.Crystal lite is a good one too.

11) yes, in the beginning you may spend a lot more on groceries.. Produce, meats ,cheeses and dairies are a bit more expensive then precanned, packaged highly processed foods.

12) Cooking... there are a lot of fast meals in our recipe section... and some chicks are a wizz with a crockpot, where they make and freeze meals ahead of time. I'm big on chicken- chicken is easy, with steamed cauliflower, easy...

13) No diet or way of eating is going to work if you cant stick to it. If you find that SouthBeach (not just phase 1 -cuz you are almost through it) Phase "1.5" or 2 is not for you...maybe Weight Watchers or just calorie counting or another plan works best for you and your lifestyle.

Take your time to plan some of your foods out, seems to me you are relying on good old normal dieting rabbit food ... there's more to life than eggs, celery and cheese.

It seems like you are having a hard time now. Once you lose the weight, how will you manage to keep it off and not regain? You seem very determined and committed, so I'm sure you will be successful at reaching your goal with South Beach. However, I noticed you said that you chose it because it wasn't too restrictive for you, but much of the post talks about how the restrictions it does have are pretty siginificant for your life. You might want to come up with a plan for maintenance now, since you don't have much to lose, and it seems like the diet doesn't fit well enough in your lifestyle to continue long term. Maybe something like calorie counting or weight watchers, where you can eat whatever you want, but just need to keep track of how much.

I just wanted to say that you are doing great. Maybe take a deep breath. First, I agree with the previous posts about making sure you are eating enough. The book says that you shouldn't be hungry and if you are hungry, eat. I think that sometimes we are used to the diet=deprivation mindset. You've come to the right place for help. These ladies know how to do SBD without the hunger or boredom.

It looks like the other ladies have already provided you with a ton of helpful advice. I can only add that I hate to cook, too. It's just not my thing and I can turn an easy recipe into a disaster. However, I think the key to eating on this plan is to find easy recipes with lots of flavor. I have a 15mo son with lots of doctor appointments and health needs. I don't have time to cook intricate meals every day.

At first I was so tired of this diet the first few days. I got into a food rut like you. Then I decided that I was going to stick to it, but I wasn't going to be miserable. On the recipe section of the SB board there are a ton of interesting recipes to try. I picked the ones with the least amount of work and time. I buy precut veggies (frozen) or if they don't have them I buy about double what I need and cut and freeze them myself so I don't have to do prep work each time I cook. I know some of the recipes have a good deal of different ingredients. I was unfamiliar with some of them since I am used to buying prepackaged stuff with chemicals to make it taste good. Don't just look at the length of ingredients. It may be that it just has a few spices and flavorings, but very little actual work (or things that you can prepare fast and just toss in the pot or oven without having to be in the kitchen with it). A lot of the dishes on the board are very delicious and my husband (no where near dieting) has asked that I make them regularly. Also, I make enough so that I can eat the leftovers the next day for lunch or can freeze half and defrost for dinner another night without having to cook. I understand the cost of food being high. To reduce this I get the off brand stuff as long as it meets the requirements. I buy a larger amount and split it into smaller amounts (ziplock bags) to be prepared and frozen for later. I also plan the week's meals so that I don't buy stuff that I can't/don't use that week. It cuts out spoiled foods (which happens with fresh healthy foods rather than stuff that can last for two years on the shelf). It also means I can pick meal recipes based on what's on sale at the grocery store and what I have coupons for. For example the grocery store has shrimp and frozen spinach on sale this week. I will pick recipes such as the stuffed mushrooms, a stirfry, and maybe defrost the chicken breasts from last weeks sale for a dish or two. Also, you can change recipes to fit your budget as long as it's okay with the food list. Frozen spinach instead of fresh. Leave out some spices if I don't have them in the pantry (It may change the taste of the meal, but it will probably still be delicious). Anyway, hang in there. Plus, the book says that stage one is the most strict of the phases. See how phase two goes for you....

Thanks so much for all of your advice and support. I guess I was having a pity party and was just soooo frustrated. Today has been going much better. I think I will try to find an EASY recipe to tackle tomorrow night. I dont' get home until 9pm tonight so I'll have to shoot for tomorrow.

Oh and Schatzi, I'm very heartened to you write that you still eat microwave popcorn. Besides overall bad nutrition and lack of exercise, that is my one true dietary downfall!

I just finished phase 1 and lost 11 lbs. My 12 year old lost 14 lbs. We both ate too many nuts. We both ate SF popsickles. We both ate SF candy. Last night I even ate a regular candy bar and so did she. Guess what we still lost weight.

We try to eat lot's of salads with regular ranch dressing or olive oil and vinegar. To keep it from getting boring try eating salads with different toppings. We ate lowcarb wraps--made them into a pizza--yum yum, and used them to make burritos. We replaced noodles with zuccinni and yellow squash to make our Italian dishes--clothed in cheese and sauce it's pretty good, try chicken stir-fry too...it's yummy (use mustard and 3 season spices and water too make a sauce)

You've gone this far. Just think in a few more days you'll be able to have bread

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